Dojo kun is a Japanese martial arts term literally meaning (training hall) rules. They are generally posted at the entrance to dojo or at the "front" of the dojo (shomen) and outline behaviour expected and disallowed. In some styles of martial arts they are recited at the end of a class.

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Generally accredited to Gichin Funakoshi (but rumoured to have been created by Kanga Sakukawa, an 18th-century Okinawankarate proponent) the Shotokan Karate dojo kun serves as a set of five guiding principles, recited at the end of each training session in most styles, intended to frame the practice within an ethical context.

The word Hitotsu means "one" or "first" and is prepended to each rule to place it at the same level of importance as the others. The word koto which ends each rule means "thing" and is used as a conjunction between rules. Also, the Japanese no indicates possessiveness and is equivalent to the English 's e.g. doryoku no seishin = effort's spirit = the spirit of effort. wo (and wa) is used to indicate that the preceding element is the subject of the sentence e.g. X wo Y = with respect to X, Y. Finally, the word imashimuru seems archaic, however, it contains the radical 戒 that means admonition and is usually translated as refrain.

The Dojo kun was derived from Gichin Funakoshi's The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate, or niju kun, by JKA officials.[2] It is used by many as a condensed form of Sensei Funakoshi's 20 precepts.

(the below is someone's opinion. The obvious omission of anything relating to physical practice indicates it is not totally honest): In Shotokan or any other styles, the main purpose of learning karate is

to practice courtesy

be able to speak out (Increase self-confidence)

train focus to reach objectives

train guidance ability

train resistance against pressure

train speaking ability

train spirit of strive

train harmony characteristic

success or failure is not important

(the below is also someone's opinion): The 3 most important spirits in dojo is